Chapter 2
They didn’t have to wait long for the manager to enter. He walked behind the desk, took his seat and addressed them.
“Good day to you. I am Manager Brodnar. I was informed that we are to perform an inheritance test with the added difficulty of possible compulsions.”
Cassandra – mumbling about having to be somewhere – was trying to leave her seat and was only held back by Gemma and Samantha, who still had their hands on her arms. They nodded, and Gemma asked about the process with a struggling subject for the test.
“Seeing as she is already struggling to sit in this office, we will forego asking her to participate willingly. I will instead call in one of our healers, have them take a look and try to lift the compulsion. If they cannot do that, we will stun her, take her to a cleansing chamber and take the test afterwards.”
Brodnar scribbled a note and vanished it in a little tornado of flames. A moment later, the office door opened, and another goblin entered.
“You asked for assistance, Brodnar?”
“Yes, Healer Alkrat. These young witches are here for an inheritance test, but the subject seems to be under compulsions as she struggles against her friends, mumbling about somewhere to be, something to do. According to her friends, she has found reasons not to take the test for the last four years. Always talking about wanting to take it shortly after and before.”
“That does indeed sound like a compulsion, but I don’t think we will be able to lift it here. If it has been in place for several years and physically affects Miss O’Keefe, we must take her to a cleansing chamber. We will, of course, keep a detailed record of everything we cleanse. There might be something there for her to use as evidence in possible legal proceedings at a later date.”
Gemma and Samantha looked at each other, then asked the goblins to proceed as they thought best and to please inform Lord Farley, Gemma’s father, and ask him to come to the bank to support them should legal proceedings become necessary.
Healer Alkrat sent a stunner at Cassandra and then levitated her out of the office, informing them that the cleansing would take 15 minutes to 3 hours.
The cleansing took just under an hour, and when Cassandra and Healer Alkrat reentered Brodnar’s office, Gemma and Samantha looked up and stared at their friend. Cassandra’s hair was straighter and an even darker black with a blue shine. Her eyes had also changed colour, now more like dark chocolate than the light brown they were used to. Other than that, she hadn’t changed. Gemma’s father stood to the side of the office and now moved toward Cassandra.
“Good day to you, Cassandra. It is nice to see you again. Gemma asked me to join you for support should legal proceedings become necessary. If you wish me to leave, however, I will.”
“Hello, Lord Farley-“
“Adolphus, I told you last summer to call me by my first name, Cassandra.”
“Adolphus, then. Thank you for coming here. I would like you to stay. If I understood what Healer Alkrat said correctly, then there would be a need for your help.”
Everyone turned to the Healer.
“Miss O’Keefe had a mild blood glamour on her person, which only resulted in changes to her hair and eyes. She also had several compulsion spells cast on her and a plethora of potions in her system – ensuring loyalty, obedience and distrust towards anything and anyone who could possibly lead to her discovering her true identity as she is, in fact, not an O’Keefe. The records of the cleansing and her medical history show a different name.” He paused. “I recommend taking the test now, and then we can discuss measures to be taken.”
Gemma and Samantha turned to their friend, inviting Cassandra into their arms. Cassandra accepted the unspoken invitation and leaned on her friends, ignoring everyone else in the room for a few moments of calm. When she felt ready, she turned back to Brodnar, still holding on to her friends.
“What do I need to do, Master Brodnar?”
Brodnar opened a drawer in his desk and took out a sheet of parchment, a potion phial and a marble bowl. Pouring the potion into the bowl, he explained that Cassandra would need to add seven drops of her blood to the potion, and then it would be poured over the parchment. He asked for her wand hand, waited for her to hold it out to him, and then took a golden needle and punctured her index finger. She hovered her finger over the bowl and let seven drops fall into it. Brodnar healed her finger with a wave of his hand. He then took the bowl and parchment, set the sheet in an area of his desk that was a bit lower than the rest and poured the liquid over it. When the whole of the parchment was covered, he vanished the excess potion and addressed the room.
“Now we wait.”
“How long does it take?” Cassandra asked, looking nervous.
“No longer than five minutes, possibly faster, as nothing is hindering a correct reading – meaning anything you have been cleansed of cannot interfere with it.”
They all stared at the parchment in nervous excitement, trying to puzzle out what Healer Alkrat didn’t want to tell them without the proof of the test. He had, after all, alluded to a different name, meaning that the O’Keefes could not be Cassandra’s parents.
Cassandra moved toward the desk when she noticed a change in the parchment and gaped. There, on the parchment, was her real name written. Her real name. She was not who she was lead to believe. Her whole world turned upside down with this test.
Cassandra Serena Prince-Selwyn-Slytherin
Father: Severus Tobias Snape (Lord Prince)
Father by blood-adoption: Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Gaunt, Lord Slytherin)
Mother: Cassandra Cassiopeia Selwyn (deceased)
Adoptive Father: Sean O’Keefe (Muggle)
Adoptive Mother: Aoife O’Keefe (Muggle)
Grandparents:
Tom Riddle Sr. (paternal by blood-adoption, deceased, Muggle)
Merope Gaunt (paternal by blood-adoption, deceased)
Eileen Snape-Prince (paternal, deceased)
Tobias Snape (paternal, deceased, Muggle)
Serena Amelia Selwyn (maternal, née Black, deceased)
Casper Richard Selwyn (maternal, deceased)
Abilities:
Parseltongue
Parselmagic
Animagus (Black Mamba)
Natural Legilimens
Natural Occlumens
Affinities:
Healing Magic
Potions
Elemental Magic (Fire, Earth)